M&A Science

Joe Covey, a serial CEO and acquirer, and investor since 1992.  Matthew Davidge, the co-owner of the NBC Affiliate WVNC (Watertown, NY) and several other stations around the country. In big companies, some business units may not perform well and might be overlooked. It can be helpful for the company to find a more suitable owner for these units. At the same time, buyers can take advantage of these opportunities to improve the businesses and maximize their potential.  In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, we will explore the experiences of Josh Covey, a successful CEO, acquirer, and investor, and Matthew Davidge, co-owner of NBC Affiliate WVNC, as they buy and develop these businesses with the goal of exiting in the future. ____________________________________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy. If you’re looking to improve your in-house training, we have corporate training plans provided. Give your team members access to the best-in-class courses, templates, and networking opportunities in the industry. Our academy was designed to lead practitioners to outdo M&A practices. It’s also a great way to show your support for M&A Science. If you’re interested in learning more about individual or team plans, visit this page. Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro  06:43 Buy-side carve-out deals               10:35 Key approach to due diligence                11:52 Unbinding a company                 13:51 Why carve-outs are difficult                 15:41 Conversations with the right people         19:05 Key things to consider when doing a carve-out 22:58 Walking away from a deal 23:59 Considerations in the carve-out model 26:32 Challenges on the buy-side of carve-outs 27:58 You have to surround yourself 30:21 Evolving the operating model  34:37 The right time to exit 35:55 How working with an investment bank is different 37:48 Bank process vs. Proprietary deals  39:21 Key lessons 40:55 Timing 42:14 Communications 43:34 Alignment on post-close operations 45:27 Advice for first-time sellers 47:57 Negotiation considerations 49:59 Craziest thing in M&A

Andrew Morbitzer, VP/Head of Corporate Development at Typeform, discusses executing product-based acquisitions, the importance of product-market fit, and overlap analysis. He shares tips for successful deals and integrating engineering teams. The podcast also touches on challenges of acquiring targets with competitive products and crazy M&A stories.

Nate Lemmerman, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Cast & Crew To perform M&A at the highest level, an ever-evolving M&A function is necessary. Organizations must focus on refining their strategies, processes, and team dynamics to ensure they can effectively navigate the complexities of each deal. In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Nate Lemmerman, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Cast & Crew, shares his experience and tips on how to build your M&A muscle. ____________________________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom.  To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout.  Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at www.dealroom.net. FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to www.firmroom.com Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 06:10 Building an M&A function from scratch 09:05 Steps to building an M&A muscle 12:17 The strategy 15:38 Process and execution structure 22:16 Critical things to consider before signing a deal 26:04 Hiring people for the M&A team 28:30 Building the diligence muscle 30:01 People alignment in M&A 32:20 Building the integration muscle 35:39 Best practices when doing deals 37:55 Craziest thing in M&A  

Ritika Butani, Head of Corporate Development at Toast  This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom.  To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout.  Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 04:22 Secrets to overcoming hurdles 05:51 Challenges in M&A 09:58 Complexities of smaller deals 12:43 Handling people in a smaller company 13:50 Cultural assessment 15:24 Culture ends up killing the deal 17:03 Tax Issues 18:58 HR issues 20:44 Contractual Issues 23:41 Change of control and assignment 25:05 Risks Mitigation 26:58 Finding good lawyers 28:34 Integration planning 30:05 Integration planning vs. hypothesis 32:44 No dedicated integration lead 34:34 Principles of doing deals 37:31 Non-negotiables 39:40 Dealing with issues 41:44 Surprise Issues 44:08 Craziest thing in M&A  

Finn Haley, SVP, Corporate Development at Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom.  To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout.  Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net   FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 08:53 Option structure 14:04 Exit cap 16:11 Drivers for the structure 18:28 Alignment with the strategy 20:35 Monitoring progress and milestones 22:16 Moving fast 24:08 Failed startups 26:16 Risks 30:09 Exercising the option 33:54 Why deals don’t push through 38:53 Innovation 40:13 Approaching a company for the buy-to-build option structure 43:20 Craziest thing in M&A  

Mark Legaspi, Director, Legal - Corporate at LinkedIn Hello M&A Friends, if you're looking to improve your in-house training, we have corporate training plans provided through M&A Science Academy. Give your team members access to the best in class courses, templates, and networking opportunities in the industry. Our academy was designed to lead practitioners with the outdo with the M&A practices. If you're interested in learning more about individual or team plans, go to www.mascience.com/academy. It's also a great way to show your support for M&A Science. Again, that's mascience.com/academy. Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 02:53 Key Considerations for M&A in 2023 05:22 Regulatory Challenges 09:41 Effect of Regulatory on Negotiations 15:43 Managing Value 17:51 Other Considerations Regarding Regulatory Risks 20:38 Suing the Regulatory Bodies 32:18 Regulatory Effects on Employees 34:08 Other Deal Killers in M&A 38:04 Trademarks Killing Deals 40:30 Market situation with IPs 42:22 Deal Breaks Due to IP 43:48 Advice for Deal Teams 46:39 Craziest thing in M&A  

David Hindley, VP of Corp Dev at Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom.  To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use the code “podcast” at checkout.  Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net. FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 05:00 The Evolution of M&A Functions 06:48 Deal experience as a Banker vs. Corp Dev 15:04 Leading an evolving M&A function 16:13 How the strategy evolved  18:07 Scoring opportunities 19:28 Speeding up the evolution for efficiency 21:31 Working with functional leads 22:29 Aligning the functions 24:10 Business Units 25:08 Corporate Development structure 27:57 Accountability 29:11 Working with integration folks 32:41 Evolution of the governance model 33:56 Success metrics 35:42 Retaining deal learnings 37:04 The hiring process 40:19 Lessons learned 41:26 Craziest thing in M&A  

Staci van Schagen, Head of M&A Integration & Disentanglement at Philips This episode is sponsored by FirmRoom, the fastest virtual data room used to get deals done. Leave the pay-per-page world behind by going to https://firmroom.com/ Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 05:40 Running global Integrations 08:08 Adapting to different cultures 09:37 Fostering safety in IMO 11:31 Continuous Improvement 13:57 Delivering integration outcomes 18:16 Dealing with uncertainties during integration planning 20:52 Threshold for mistakes during integration 24:56 Using reflections to run integration 28:57 Deal sizes affecting preparations 31:51 Upskilling scenario planning 32:53 Craziest thing in M&A  

Jeff Wald, co-founder of Bento Engine, shares best practices when selling a business, including thinking about an exit, engaging with investors, and negotiating law firm prices. He also discusses the importance of communication with employees during the deal process and shares tips for successful integration. The podcast episode provides valuable insights and real-life experiences in M&A.

Brent Campbell, Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Alight Solutions (NYSE: ALIT) This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom. To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use the code “podcast” at checkout. Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net. FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 05:46 Importance of Integration 07:38 Gaining integration perspective 10:12 Negative consequences of neglecting integration 12:53 How corporate development can focus on integration 15:38 Challenges in integration 18:22 Challenges in aligning stakeholders 21:04 HSR restrictions 22:27 Integration structure 24:19 Building the integration muscle 32:06 Business sponsor 34:02 How to measure integration success 37:13 Craziest thing in M&A